Category Archives: Teaching

the people you meet. the things they do and the projects they are working on. the places they live,.

i call them the all-embracing 3P’s of Perma – People, Projects and Places and they make up the permacommunity.

there is also a strong bond of values. the ethical principles of permaculture provide a triangulated strength of connection that attracts highly effective, truly holistic people.

my personal experience of the permacommunity is how valuable it has been for me. it has enabled a sense of place for being and for thinking, feeling, living and socialising in ways that are sustainable and regenerative.

the amazing world of permaculture is a very diverse and a creatively inspiring space to be in.

and diversity is without any doubt one of the great keys to Permaculture.

the diversity of the 3P’s is one that is well used and valued. one that culminates in strong resilient Community (C)

its no different here at Milkwood.

an example of this diversity is my past 24hrs.

My Activity Notes – the diarised flow of my day within a work team of 4 ppl

checked the pigs and that their pen and shelter structures are in order good

installed 2 grandpa feeders into the chook run

carted 3 full wheelbarrows of grass cut from the Food Forest path construction to ‘prime’ the chooks Gravity Run with inputs.

…. is a combination of foods groups (root vege, nuts & yoghurt) that when combined not only pack a nutrient dense punch but when prepared slowly and with care for taste and texture are amazing.

slow roasted caramellised beetroot and roasted almond dip.

Nutritionally this mix is good for the production of red blood cells (blood) in the bone marrow. the nutrient and functional food values from the combination of probiotics, trace elements, minerals – especially iron and protein combine to be a very good food for the Blood … hence Trev’s Blood Dip.

Foods like my Blood Dip here really do provide such incredible nutrient availability for sustained health & wellness. the nutrient and caloric density of these foods makes good ‘agronomic’ sense. when used amongst a variety of foods, functional food dips like this could easily be used as a low cost big-bang staple to reduce the volume (quantity) of food consumed but also the raise the nutritional value (quality). This could only make sense at the level of the value of soil to the need to feed people.

The beauty of living by the People Care principle is that you connect to food and to its value in an holistic manner. Preparing a diversity of nutritious food for ourselves and importantly for others – the people we care about – and importantly with time to enjoy and digest it falls into the Domain of Health & Spiritual Wellbeing in the Permaculture Design System Flower (David Holmgren).

By maintaining a balance across the Domains and with a good daily practice of permaculture principles I would argue that the Blood Dip is a food that sits squarely for the Zone 00.

here’s some snaps from my photo journal of my friend Nick Ritar from Milkwood Permaculture ripping it up in fine and very inspiring form leading a group of engaged and enthusiastic learners (including me) through an Intro to Permaculture course at the Rahamim Ecological Learning Centre in Bathurst 5-6 Aug 2011.